Chicago man charged in deadly CTA train attack that killed Kyle Bickham

CHICAGO - A third person has been charged in connection with the death of a man who was allegedly pushed from a moving CTA train earlier this month.

Kyle Bickham murder

According to prosecutors, 29-year-old Kyle Bickham was riding home from work on a Red Line train Sept. 7 when he became involved in an altercation with four other passengers — 19-year-old Katlar Parchman, 18-year-old Christian McBounds, a 15-year-old girl and another man.

Prosecutors allege the group forced open the doors of the train’s last car while it was moving and pushed Bickham onto the tracks, causing his death.

McBounds was arrested Monday in the 11200 block of South Carpenter Street, according to police.

He has been charged with:

• One count of first-degree murder
• Two counts of murder during the commission of another forcible felony
• One count of aggravated battery involving a transit employee or passenger
• One count of mob action involving force by two or more people

Parchman and a 15-year-old girl have also been charged with murder in the case.

What led up to the deadly push

Bickham was riding home from work on the Red Line when he boarded the train at the 95th Street stop — the same stop where Parchman, McBounds, the 15-year-old girl and another man also got on.

Surveillance cameras inside the train car captured what followed, and multiple witnesses described what they saw unfold.

According to prosecutors, Bickham sat across from Parchman and started talking to her, while the 15-year-old was walking back and forth through the car. At one point, Bickham got up and approached another passenger near a bag, and that passenger told him to back off.

Bickham briefly got off the train at one stop, then boarded again. A couple of minutes later, he and the 15-year-old got into an argument, moving around the car as they yelled at each other.

During the argument, prosecutors said Bickham spit on the teenager, and the spit also hit Parchman. That’s when things turned physical. One of the men grabbed Bickham by the arm while the teenager punched him in the face, prosecutors said.

How the attack unfolded

The group surrounds Bickham:

Prosecutors allege the four people involved surrounded Bickham and began punching and striking him as they moved toward the back of the train car.

One of the men began choking Bickham while the others, including Parchman, continued punching him and pulling at his head.

According to prosecutors, there was a brief pause in the fight near the sliding train doors, during which Bickham reached down to pick up his headphones from the floor.

The two men then forced Bickham into the corner near the train car’s sliding doors, while Parchman and the teenager closed in around him.

Pushed from a moving train:

One of the men fighting Bickham pulled the emergency lever on the sliding door while the train was still moving, forcing it open.

The teenager then stepped up alongside him, and they pushed Bickham out of the moving train as he struggled against them. The teenage girl grabbed him by the head and shoulder and pulled him out, according to prosecutors.

Parchman and the other man were standing directly next to them as it happened.

When Bickham was pushed out, he was struck by a southbound train and killed. Before leaving the train at the State Street stop, the teenager was described by witnesses as saying, "He shouldn’t have bothered us."

How investigators identified the suspects

Parchman’s Ventra card, which was linked to her name and phone number, was used to enter the 95th Street station.

Investigators also found an Instagram story posted from her account on the day of the attack. The story showed a selfie of Parchman wearing the same clothes she had on in the surveillance footage.

A witness also positively identified Parchman in a photo array.

Parchman was arrested Sept. 16 in the 200 block of North Keeler Avenue. After being read her rights, she spoke with detectives and identified herself, the teenager and the two men in still images taken from CTA surveillance video.

Parchman told detectives she slapped Bickham three or four times after he spit on her and then stopped, prosecutors said.

When detectives searched her phone with her consent, they found searches for "good places to lay low" and "who are the police looking for" after the attack.

What's next:

McBounds is due in court Wednesday for a detention hearing.

The investigation remains ongoing. One other man identified in connection with the attack has not been charged, according to police.

Crime and Public SafetyChicago Transit AuthorityChicagoNews